Dinton Pastures parkrun

This parkrunday I visited Dinton Pastures for the first time. As parkrunday approached, this week I did not have a specific target after the long drive to grab my second J at Jubilee parkrun, Bedford last week. So I picked the 5K app on parkrun eve and scrolled through challenges to see what the closest and most alluring option could be. Ideally not one that required me waking up at 5.30 in the morning again.

Somehow, alphabets chasing seems to be what I end up falling on these days. Getting the third D offered two options and Dinton Pastures parkrun has been on my to do list for a while. The lakes shown on the little map attracted me and I also wanted to start ticking the events around Reading off.

So here we were, weekly destination chosen. This would be only my second event in Berkshire, after visiting Upton Court parkrun long ago in 2023. Strange, considering it is really not far from my base in Wimbledon and it offers a good number of interesting events. I am sure more will follow.

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Dinton Pastures parkrun!

Trip to Dinton Pastures parkrun and parking

Dinton Pastures parkrun takes place in its namesake, Dinton Pastures Country Park. It is a big, beautiful park with plenty of facilities, from spacious parking areas to cafes, activities and equipped green and water areas. It seems to be well worth a visit, even besides the obligatory parkrunday morning activities.

However you are planning to come, the event starts and ends on the bottom right corner of the park, if you are looking at a map. Or, to be a bit more specific, at the bottom corner of White Swan Lake.

According to the official event site, the closest train station is Winnersh. The station is served by Southwestern and it is on the London Waterloo to Reading line, so plenty of early morning trains available if you want to visit from the capital. Once you are there, Once you get there, you will be 1.1 miles or 20/25 minutes walk away from Dinton Pastures parkrun meeting point, according to google maps. The walk is all on a straight line along Robin Hood Lane and then Davis Street, until you reach the park.

The official event site also suggests regular bus connections from Reading and Wokingham.

If you are coming by car, the entrance to the park is not far from the relevant M4 junction. As you approach the park, pay attention to the signs because my GPS was telling to head a few metres beyond the required left turn. Once you get in, keep driving for a few 100 metres to the main car park. You will pass an overflow car park on your way, so you know where to go in the extremely unlikely scenario you find the main car park to be full.

The car park is pretty sizeable and there will be a parkrun volunteer at the gate you need to walk towards to enter the park and walk to the start. All great, but bear in mind parking here is quite prices. You can pay in cash or by app (RingGo) and you can either park for up to 3hrs or for the full day beyond that. I paid for 3hrs and it cost me just shy of £8.

Dinton Pastures parkrun: start and briefings

Once you leave the car park and enter the park where a volunteer is waiting, turn left and follow the many other parkrunners. You will cross a little bridge, walk by a nicely equipped children play area and then walk for another 100m through a forest before reaching the clearing where Dinton Pastures parkrun meeting point and long finish funnel are.

The clearing is pretty big and you will not fully understand how busy the event is until after the briefings.

The First Timers Briefing was helped in the middle of the clearing by a fun and welcoming man who made sure to welcome tourists. He also explained the course, as far as it could.

Shortly afterwards, the RD called for the Main Briefing, a bit closer to the path but still on the clearing. Once it is done, everybody moves on to the path were the human river has to flow for about 200m to reach the start line at the South-Western corner of the lake. The path is probably 3m across, but at around 400 parkrunners per week, you the queue gets long. I think I was around half way through I think and according to my GPS I ended up being about 150m away from the actual start line. Bear it in mind if you are targeting a fast time.

Then, I heard the RD start the countdown. ‘3, 2, 1, go!’. It was time to go.

Dinton Pastures parkrun course review – star ratings

Dinton Pastures parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 413 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Dinton Pastures parkrun. The field felt busy at the start and some time was definitely lost reaching the actual start line and then overtaking by straying on the grassy sides for a short while. But it was not too bad, nothing comparable to the clogged start line of some other events. Fulham Palace parkrun, I am thinking about you, obviously. Looking at historical events, this was a busy one, but not different from historical average attendance around 400/450. There are a couple of events in the 500s over the last 12 months and a very busy outlier of 665 on Christmas Day 2024. That must have been pretty congested!

Course congestion is definitely something I experienced for the first few 100 metres, but then things get flowing very well. In general, paths are fairly wide, turns are gentle and there are no course obstructions. This is a great course where you can enjoy your run or walk and the many volunteers around it will make sure you never risk getting lost.

Surface was better than I expected. A good portion of the paths are paved and when they are not, it seems to be very hard and smooth compacted gravel. No mud of puddles to be seen on the day of my visit, however I guess in winter puddles and mushy leaves might make an appearance. From my personal experience, road shoes should be fine most of the year, but trail shoes could be prudent if it has been raining a lot during the week.

Elevation-wise, this is definitely a flat course. At 14m over 2 laps, stats confirm my perception. There are some protracted very gentle climbs and downhills throughout, but they are never particularly noticeable and I doubt they affect perceived effort.

Course layout is quite interesting: while you will be running 2 laps, there are substantial differences between them. The first lap runs around the Western lake, with an additional triangle around a further small wet area. Then you reach the start and take a wider path following the side of the larger, Eastern lake until you rejoin the previous path for the return section only. At the end, go past the start line and reach the funnel by the original meeting point.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

Once it’s time to go, there is a bit of a walk to reach the start line from the meeting point where you will eventually end in the finish funnel. Probably 3-4 minutes, not as much as at my local Wimbledon parkrun, but still enough to get in the zone. Once you reach the start line and the big group starts pressing up, you will probably have the first feel of how busy this event is. As said above, it is not overcrowded, but it is definitely busy. There will be a meaningful lag for people starting in the middle of the field and a bit of congestion for the first segment.

After that, you start heading towards the lake and then running along its Eastern shores, The path is mostly flat throughout and fairly wide, with a line of trees separating you from the lake and denser trees on your right. Every now and then you will pass a clearing in the trees with views on the lake and room for fishermen to set a tent and their equipment. Eventually, you will reach the top of the lake and take a slightly wider detour around it At the top of the North-heading segment there is a hard left turn that is followed by a noticeable downhill, before you are again turning left and starting your way back on the opposite side of the lake..

As you head South, it’s more of the same. With the exception of a couple of segments in the open up top, you will be running by the lake, with trees in between. The path is more curvy on the side, keeping things interesting. There are couple of path bifurcations where marshals are available to show you the way. The second one will be showing you where to go for lap 2, teasing you with the alternative route to reach the finish funnel. As you head for lap 2, the Northbound segment is different, while the Southbound segment is mostly the same.

As you reach the bifurcation for a second time, head towards the finish funnel and run back along the way you had walked before the start. The long funnel will be there, waiting for you on grass.

Congratulations on completing Dinton Pastures parkrun!

Facilities at Dinton Pastures parkrun

Dinton Pastures Country Park offers a lot to visitors, from children areas to fishing spots and biking quads available for hire.

By the side of the car park, there are signs indicating toilets are available in a small brown building. However, when I tried going there all doors were shut. After the event I found toilets inside the cafe, just after a small green area at the opposite side of the car park. I don’t know if those are accessible before the event, but they definitely were afterwards.

When it comes to parkbreakfast, there is a well equipped cafe with a lot of choice, a decent indoor seating area and a large outdoor seating area. The queue to get served was very very long, but service could be quick. As long as you did not order a coffee or another warm drink, that is. Also worth noting, there is a 10% discount for parkrunners and they actually ask if you have attended the event and apply the discount to your bill.

As a competitor to the McDonald’s index, I am continuing to collect data for the parkbreakfast index: how much is breakfast at each location?

At Dinton Pastures parkrun, I ordered a chocolate brownie, a grapefruit soda and a single espresso. This cost me £7.3. Decently honest, and cheaper than parking.

Dinton Pastures parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

I enjoyed my visit to Dinton Pastures parkrun. The route is very pleasant even if it does not offer a lot of obvious landmarks and having a meaningful difference between lap 1 and lap 2 is a nice and unusual idea. The cafe with its massive outdoor seating areas is also a clear highlight of the venue.

I would love to come back and who knows, maybe something in the future will bring me to the area once again.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Dinton Pastures parkrun team for your hospitality!